FedEx Racing Express Facts – Phoenix Raceway
Denny Hamlin
#11 FedEx Ground Toyota
Joe Gibbs Racing
Race Info:
Race: Can-Am 500
Date/Time: November 12/2:30 PM ET
Distance: 312 Laps/312 Miles
Track Length: 1 mile
Track Shape: Oval
Banking: 9-11 degrees
2016 Winner: Joey Logano
Express Notes:
Texas Recap: Denny Hamlin finished third in Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway to notch his best finish at the 1.5-mile track since his back-to-back wins at the Lone Star State speedway in 2010. Hamlin raced within the top-10 for the majority of the 334-lap event, taking advantage of a two-tire pit strategy and tactical driving in the race’s final Stage to collect his 15th top-five finish of the 2017 season — tying his career-best number of top-five finishes in a single season (2009).
After falling as far back as 14th in the race’s final Stage, Hamlin fought his way back to the front of the field and was scored fourth when the race’s seventh caution appeared on lap 270. The yellow-flag break gave the #11 FedEx crew an opportune moment to make a pit stop within their fuel window, and they elected to take two right-side tires only, putting Hamlin in the lead for the restart with 60 laps remaining. Hamlin held onto the coveted top spot until a restart on lap 288 gave Martin Truex Jr. and Kevin Harvick an opportunity to tighten up the gap and move passed him. Following Sunday’s race, Hamlin gained two positions in the NASCAR Playoffs points standings, and he is now fifth in the overall standings.
Phoenix Preview: The Series heads West to Phoenix Raceway for the final cut-off race in the NASCAR Playoffs that will narrow the Championship field down to four contenders who will race for a title in Miami. Hamlin enters Sunday’s 312-lap race fifth in the NASCAR Playoffs standings, 19 points below the Championship 4 cut-off line. In 24 starts at Phoenix Raceway, Hamlin owns one win, 10 top-five and 14 top-10 finishes. He suffered a flat right-rear tire during his last visit to the desert earlier this season, but rallied to score a 10th-place finish.
Delivering Laps for FedEx Cares: This season, FedEx is tying the performance of the #11 FedEx Toyota on the track to its efforts to improve road safety through a new program, Delivering Laps for FedEx Cares, by donating $111 for each lap Hamlin leads and $11,000 for each race victory to Safe Kids Worldwide, a nonprofit working to protect kids on the road, at home and at play. FedEx will also contribute $111,000 to Safe Kids if the #11 team wins the 2017 NASCAR championship.
Denny led 65 laps during Sunday’s race at Texas resulting in a $7,215 donation to Safe Kids Worldwide. To date, Denny has led 517 laps and captured two Cup Series wins, and FedEx has donated $79,387 to Safe Kids through the Delivering Laps for FedEx Cares program. Fans can track the total amount donated to date from the Delivering Laps for FedEx Cares program on the homepage of FedExRacing.com.
Hamlin Statistics:
Track: Phoenix Raceway
Races: 24
Wins: 1
Top-5: 10
Top-10: 14
Poles: 2
Average Start: 11.7
Average Finish: 10.8
Laps Led: 445
Hamlin Conversation – PHOENIX:
What’s your overall feeling as you head to Phoenix to battle for the final spot in the Championship 4?
“Overall we had a good day in Texas. We scored a lot of points, and that helped us, we just need to keep digging to give ourselves a shot at a win this weekend. That’s the way we’re going to pull this thing off. We’ve been up front to contend for a win at the end of these past two races, and that’s our plan again at Phoenix.”
#11 FedEx Racing – 2017 Crew Roster
Crew Chief – Mike “Wheels” Wheeler
Car Chief – Leo Thorsen
Engineers –Sam McAulay, Ryan Bowers
Shock Specialist – Drew Bible
Tire Specialist – Kerry Ferris
Mechanics – Tony Hamm, Scott Eldridge, Sean Kerlin
Spotter – Chris Lambert
Front Tire Changer: Dustin Necaise
Front Tire Carrier: Brandon Pegram
Rear Tire Changer: Mike Hicks
Rear Tire Carrier: Ben Fischbeck
Jack Man: Nate Bolling
Gas Man: Caleb Hurd
Transportation – Frank Hodel, Josh Collins
